One of the profound ways that UW changes lives is providing a world-class pharmacy education and preparing the next generation of leaders. As Pharmacy Badgers, what we do matters. However, over the last decade, there seems to be less interest in a pharmacy career among young people. We’re working to change that by partnering with our alumni to show teens and undergrads the tremendous possibilities of a pharmacy career and the limitless ways pharmacists make a difference in people’s health and patient care.

As successful alumni, I hope you’ll help promote the profession. According to our brand research, the top reason why prospective students became interested in the pharmacy profession was because they knew a pharmacist as a friend or family member or because they were exposed to the role of the pharmacist when they experienced a medical illness personally or through a loved one. Alumni have a powerful impact on how young adults think about the pharmacy profession.

The School of Pharmacy is hosting an Open House for Undergrads on March 30 and a Preview Day for High School Students on April 6 to show prospective students what pharmacy school is like and what a PharmD degree can do for their career. I hope you’ll refer promising students to the School of Pharmacy because our PharmD alumni know best as to what it takes to be a great health care leader.

Rite of Passage

Next month in April, we will be coating the PharmD Class of 2022 to commemorate the completion of their first year of pharmacy school. It’s a special moment for our student pharmacists to officially receive their lab coat during the White Coat Ceremony, marking their commitment to the pharmacy profession and celebrating their accomplishments. Our Pharmacy Alumni Association (PAA) leaders and other alumni take part in the experience as they present the white coat to our DPH-1 students. It’s inspiring for our PharmD students to see our Pharmacy Badgers involved in these milestone events during their pharmacy journey.

What’s also moving is how our alumni pay it forward by donating a white coat to a PharmD student and making our students feel personally welcomed and supported. Others take this opportunity to fund travel grants that allow our School of Pharmacy students to travel to key conferences and gain professional development. Our PhD alumni can support School of Pharmacy graduate students specifically with travel grants as well through the Pharmacy Graduate Student Support Fund.

There’s still time to support a PharmD student at this year’s White Coat Ceremony. You can make an impact with your donation by April 1. We’re grateful to our alumni who are critical to our student success, and the White Coat Ceremony is just one example of how our Pharmacy Badgers give back.

Connecting with Pharmacy Alumni

School of Pharmacy alumni in the Milwaukee area came together to connect and network over pizza and beer during the Badger game in January. David Mott (BS ’88, MS ’92, PhD ‘95), associate dean of advancement, is looking to organize more events around Wisconsin to get to know more of our alumni and create new ways for alumni to build community. Wherever you are, chances are good that there’s a Pharmacy Badger living or working near you. Next up is Green Bay where School of Pharmacy alumni will get together. In the meantime, I’m headed to Seattle and hope to meet more alumni at the Wisconsin Alumni & Friends Reception on March 23 at the APhA Annual Meeting. All Pharmacy Badgers are invited so even if you’re not attending APhA but in the Seattle area, please join us!

You can also stay connected with other Badgers by seeing what some of our alumni are up to in DiscoveRx Class Notes. For example, Jeff Fish (BS ’91) received the Gold Medal Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) for the best original investigative research and case reports. Bruce Scott (BS ’79) is this year’s winner of the Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award from ASHP. Jeanine Abrons (MS ’08) is being inducted as a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association’s Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management. David Zgarrick (BS ’88) was elected to another three-year term as treasurer of AACP. Share your update so we can celebrate your personal and professional success.

Faculty Buzz

Whether it’s national recognition by leading professional organizations or highlighting our faculty as experts, our School of Pharmacy faculty continue to shine in their outstanding work across research, teaching, outreach, and practice. Here are some examples.

APhA is honoring Associate Professor Michelle Chui in the Social and Administrative Sciences Division as a Fellow in the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmaceutical Research & Science (APhA-APRS) for her exemplary professional achievements and service to the profession. The Academy selected Chui in recognition by peers and other health care professionals on the state and national level for her research in the areas of patient safety and safe medication use. Learn more about her groundbreaking research on CancelRx.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry is recognizing Assistant Professor Jiaoyang Jiang in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division as the most impressive early career scientist with the 2019 David Y. Gin New Investigator Award, a top honor in the field of carbohydrate chemistry from the world’s largest scientific society and leading organization for chemistry professionals. She will be presented with the award at the ACS Spring National Meeting this month.

Assistant Professor Joe Zorek is the recipient of this year’s Award of Excellence in Experiential Education by the AACP. Zorek led a national taskforce on implementing interprofessional education in experiential learning settings.

Two School of Pharmacy faculty will be featured in an upcoming special program on rural health on Wisconsin Public Television. Social and Administrative Sciences Professor David Mott and Pharmacy Practice Assistant Professor Ed Portillo (PharmD ’14) will share their perspective on the expanding role of pharmacists in rural areas. “Medicine on Main Street” will premiere on April 8 at 9:30 p.m. CST with additional repeat airings on April 12 at 11:30 p.m. and April 28 at 5:00 p.m. CST.

See how pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists change lives.

On, Wisconsin!

Steven M. Swanson
Dean